My Little Pony: Gender is Magic
by TwilightShine
Summary: Follow Twilight Shine (transgender Twilight Sparkle) as he transitions from female to male and the shenanigans of the new and improved Mane 6 - Spike, and all their friends! Rated M for safety.
1. Twilight Shine Pt 1

My Little Pony:

Gender is Magic

Twilight Shine Pt 1

Twilight a stands facing a mirror. He lifts his navy blue mane between his fingers and stares at it. Then he raises a pair of safety scissors and winces.

"You can do this Twilight." He says to himself and begins cutting the long luxurious locks. Slowly at first but eventually he picks up speed and the room fills with the frenzied snipping of the tiny blades. At the end he's breathing heavily and the mane has become significantly shorter, now styled in a young boy's fashion.

"Twilight?" Spike's voice calls from outside the room, startling him slightly.

"Twilight I need your help! We're supposed to write a report to Princess Celestia!"

Twilight stood still and quietly, there was no going back now, with the floor covered in bits of mane, though that did not stop him from feeling fear. Maybe if he just stood still long enough everything would-

"Twilight Sparkle?" Spike called again.

A sigh escaped Twilight's muzzle.

"I'm coming!"


	2. Twilight Shine Pt 2

My Little Pony:

Gender is Magic

Twilight Shine Pt. 2

Spike looked up as Twilight entered the room, and promptly did a double take.

"Uh, Twi? What happened to your mane?"

"I cut it." Twilight mumbled as Spike's stare grew more intense.

"Why would you want to do that? You had such a beautiful mane! I don't get it."

Twilight breathed deeply, "This feels more comfortable to me; more appropriate."

"But, Twilight, that's a boy's mane style. You're a girl," laughed Spike.

Twilight winced. This was it, the deciding moment.

"No, Spike, I understand that's what you see, what everypony sees, but it's not how I feel inside."

"Huh?" Spike looked confused.

" I mean," Twilight paused to take another shaky breath, "I- I'm a boy."


	3. Twilight Shine Pt 3

My Little Pony:

Gender is Magic

Twilight Shine Pt. 3

Spike was holding his sides from laughing so hard.

"Very funny, Twi!"

"Spike, please, I'm trying to be serious," Twilight said earnestly.

This just made Spike look at him as though he had sprouted a second horn.

"Uh huh, Twilight you're wearing a dress."

As if that settles everything. Twilight grimaced as they looked down at the purple smock-style dress and the white under blouse with the cute little string bow. Maybe he should have gotten a new wardrobe first but he had calculated that it would be easier to come out if he still looked like the same old Twilight; it should have been easier to handle this way. It was beginning to look as though his calculations were incorrect.

"I don't have anything else yet," Twilight started hesitantly, "But it's not about the clothes I wear. It's about who I am in my heart. Anypony can wear a dress." Twilight mumbled the last bit towards the floor.

Spike snorted, expelling a puff of green smoke.

"But you have a girl's body so your a GIRL."


	4. Twilight Shine Pt 4

My Little Pony:

Gender is Magic

Twilight Shine Pt. 4

Twilight stood thinking for a long moment.

"Spike," Twilight said softly, "I raised you like I would a pony and through that you've become a fine dragon. Even though you were raised differently you don't have to fight to be seen as yourself because ponies can look at you and see you're a dragon.

"Sometimes somepony's bodies don't match their hearts and we have to fight to make other ponies see our inside as our outside. It's called being transgender. My body can be changed, it's just going to take a lot more time and effort than most ponies have to go through."

Spike was leaning against the wall picking his nose. It had gone quiet for a good minute before Twilight waved to get his attention.

"Huh?" Spike grunted.

"Weren't you listening at all?" Twilight said, feeling slightly irritated. Spike always did this during important speeches.

"Why?" Spike snapped, "You're my mother, Twilight Sparkle, that's all you'll ever be to me."

Twilight was stunned, Spike had never called him his mother before. Mostly Twilight had thought of Spike as a little brother who happened to be solely in his care.

"Spike-"

"YOU'RE MY MOTHER TWILIGHT!"


	5. Twilight Shine Pt 5

My Little Pony:

Gender is Magic

Twilight Shine Pt. 5

The first face Spike ahd seen in his short life was Twilight's. On the day he hatched he knew that this pony loved him more than anything. Twillight had always been there to feed him, change him and tuck him into bed at night with a kiss on the head.

"Twi!" was his first word and to him that meant 'mother'. He would not hear the actual word for mother until he was older and when he did it confused him. So he asked Twilight if she was his mother. Then Twilight told Spike a sad story where there was an egg that had been left in it's nest because a monster had frightened the parents away. She told him that egg had been brought to Canterlot where it would be hatched by a young unicorn who was talented with magic. That was how they had come to be together.

Of course at the time Spike thought this meant his parents had abandoned him, maybe because he was too weak, and, being a small chilld, he had cried. But then Twilight would come, scoop him up and hold him until the tears went away. All he knew was that Twilight was there when they had left him cold and alone.

Twilight would say she loved him and that she would never leave, that they were a family and that wouldn't change. Ever.

"YOU'RE MY MOTHER TWILIGHT!"


	6. Twilight Shine Pt 6

My Little Pony:

Gender is Magic

Twilight Shine Pt. 6

Spike stood across the room, arms akimbo, working himself into a fury.

"You can't be a guy, you CAN'T," Spike shouted, "You're Twilight Sparkle!"

Twilight's eyes welled up and his gut twisted into invisible knots.

"Spike- I- you've- well you've never called me your mother before," Twilight said softly.

Spike shook his head violently.

"Please, Twilight, don't do this!"

Twilight reached out to comfort Spike, concern etched deeply across his face, but Spike slapped the arm away. Spike's body began to shake as he stood across from Twilight, it was all Twilight could do to keep from running over to him, giving him a hug and promising never to speak of any of this again. But he didn't.

They stared at one another, both crying from pain.

"You're Twilight Sparkle," Spike growled out emitting a puff of green smoke.

Twilight shook his tearful head. This was something he had to do. Not doing anything for so long had been slowly killing him inside and he felt that if he didn't do something now it would kill him for real.

"Please," He said haltingly, "I would very much like it if you called me Twilight Shine."


	7. Twilight Shine Pt 7

My Little Pony:

Gender is Magic

Twilight Shine Pt. 7

Spike was sobbing. The pain seemed too much for the adolescent to bear.

"Spike, I'm still the smae person. I- I need you with me," Twilight begged, "You're my family."

Spike backed slowly towards the door, away from Twilight. A million little thoughts flew through Twilight's head but the one that stood out was a memory; a pair of big green eyes peering happiliy up towards him form a small dragon lying on a pile of broken shell. Twilight's heart felt like it was being ripped in two and it was then he realized that Spike was right about one thing - he was his mother.

Twilight reached out again, taking a half-step forward but was stopped as Spike shook his head, his face a mask of pain and anger.

"Goodbye, Twilight Sparkle."

Spike walked out, slamming the library door behind him. Twilight collapsed, hitting the floor hard with his knees then curling into the fetal posistion. Time stretched out to infinity and would have claimed him forever if another voice hadn't broken through.

"Twilight?"


	8. A Friend in Need Pt 1

Fluttershy's day had just been lovely. She had fed and cared for her woodland friends all morning and was now headed to Twilight's library to find a good story book to read to the little ones later on.

As she approached the front door of the library slammed and a crying Spike stormed out giving her an awful glare on his way by.

"Meep!" Fluttershy squeaked as she backed away a bit. A horrible noise caught her attention as she neared an open window, the kind of feral howl one of her wild beasts would make. At first Fluttershy's instinct was to get far away but then, she thought, if there was a creature in pain she couldn't rightly leave it alone.

"Hello?" She said in a near whisper, "Um, is everything alright?" She fluttered up a little to see in through the window the sight that greeted her was not that of an injured animal but of her friend Twilight.

"Twilight?" She called out the horrible howl broke off mid stream but Twilight's curled up body still shook with silent sobs.

" I'm - erm- I'm coming in!" She floated through the open window and gently landed on the floor. Twilight raised his head and locked his hollow eyes onto the nervous Fluttershy. A gasp escaped Fluttershy's muzzle, Twilight looked as though a piece of them had died. She all but ran to Twilight and pulled him into a gentle hug.

"Spike! Sp-Spike!" Twilight cried.

"Shh," Fluttershy muttered, "Everything will be alright." She reached up to stroke his mane and her hand found much less then there should have been.

Fluttershy's eyes popped wide open. 'Why would she cut her beautiful mane?' She thought.

"Twilight?" Fluttershy murmured in concern. "Why did you cut your mane? What happened with Spike?"

"I told him," Twilight laughed hollowly and put his head in his hands, "I told him…"

"Erm, uh, wh-what did you tell him Twilight?" Beginning to be terrified of the answer. 'It couldn't be the same as me. No one who has a good life would risk it.' Twilight looked up and laughed again, harshly this time.

"Everything. I told him exactly who I am."


	9. A Friend in Need Pt 2

My Little Pony:

Gender is Magic

A Friend in Need Pt. 2

Fluttershy's mind raced with thoughts and memories. She remembered a colt who had wept inconsolably the first time it's mane was shorn and every time after. Then she thought of Twilight who had not cared that her mane had been poofed by Rainbow Dashthat first day she'd come to Ponyville, like to her it made no difference in what had happened to it. Then her running away from Rarity when she'd been trying to dress Twilight up afterwards. The colt in her mind would have been ecstatic to have somepony to do that for them and when they had finally gotten to it themselves had tried on dresses for hours, the frillier the better. But Twilight, she had been happiest with the most plain, simple smock that Rarity had presented her for her birthday party in Canterlot. Neither of them had friends their own age as a foal either, Fluttershy realized.

When that colt had fallen out of Clousdale they had been fighting hard to be the filly they really were and, upon seeing their butterfly cutie mark appear, had made the full decision to live on, away from Cloudsdale, as Fluttershy the mare. But Twilight had good friends now that knew her best as, well, a "her", and Twilight was the trusted student of their ruler, Princess Celestia. Would anypony really risk loosing all that? But then here she-he-they were with a freshly cropped mane saying they told Spike everything about who they really were.

The conflict of mind was tearing up Fluttershy. If Twilight WAS like her than didn't want to keep silent at their expense, but then if they were not the sameFluttershy didn't want to say anything at had lived thus far with no pony knowing enough to treat her differently than any other mare and she wasn't about to chabge that on simple intuition. Maybe she would see how Twilight fared before telling them anything. First, though, she had to be certain.

When she came back to her senses it was to Twilight's dejected face.

"Oh!" Fluttershy squeaked. She cetainly did not want Twilight to get the impression that she didn't care. And she did care very much, she realized, because, as different as their situations were, if Twilight was really going through the same thing as her then she wanted to be there for them every step of the way.

"So, uhm, I really like what you did with your mane," Fluttershy began cautiously, "But that dress, erm, well, it doesn't really -well, match the same style?" Twilight sighed and snorted dirisively.

"That is," Fluttershy almost lost her nerve but, unlike her usual self, plunged ahead anyway, "It looks very fetching and all, but-but is that what you want?"


	10. A Friend in Need Pt 3

My Little Pony:

Gender Is Magic

A Friend in Need Pt. 3

Twilight sighed and gave Fluttershy a sidelong glance. After Spike stormed out he had lost all hope of being open to his friends without loosing them. Then came Fluttershy, who had hugged him and been her usual kind self despite how he had looked. When he began to tell her she had paused for so long Twilight assumed she must have been terrified. He looked away dejected.

"So, uhm, I really like what you did with your mane," Fluttershy was speaking in a near whisper and Twilight imagined it was because she was forcing herself to be polite, "But that dress, erm, well, it doesn't really -well match the same style?" Twilight snorted a bit, being unsure whether that had been a sttaement or a question, he remained silent.

Go figure for Fluttershy, who was obsessed with haute couture, to pick out the fashion faux pas. twilight supposed he could try to be a bit nicer though, she was trying her best after all. He sighed and ran his fingers through what was left of his mane, it almost made him smile. He was trying to build up the courage to say what needed saying but Fluttershy cut in.

"That is," He felt Fluttershy fidget next to him, "it looks very fetching and all, but-but is that what you want?" And just like that Fluttershy had given him all the courage that she usually lacked. 'Spirit of Kindness indeed,' He thought fondly.

"I've never wanted it," Twilight said with the beginnings of a smile creeping through his voice, "They just help me fit in when I thought everypony would see through me."

Fluttershy looked as though something in her head had clicked into place.

"So, uhm..."

"Yes, Fluttershy?"

"What do you want me to... Uhm, what are you, oh... See through you to-"

"To me," Twilight interuppted her when it was clear Fluttershy was too polite to finish. "The stallion I really am."

"Oh!" Squeaked Fluttershy, "So do you , uhm, have a new name?"

Twilight finally lost the battle against the smile creeping across his face and he broke out in a full grin.

"Twilight Shine, my name is Twilight Shine."

"How perfect for you!" Fluttershy clapped for him, and Twilight stared at her for a long moment before bursting out into relieved laughter. Fluttershy giggled along after a bit and Twilight enveloped her into a bear hug.

"Thank you!"


	11. Wardrobe Fitting Pt 1

My Little Pony:

Gender is Magic

Wardrobe Fitting Pt. 1

Twilight felt much better after his interaction with Fluttershy. The two had sat there on the library floor speaking lightly of smaller matters for a while until the fact that Twilight had others to speak with could no longer be ignored.

"Itried to think logically about who to tell and how," Twilight told Fluttershy, "But with Spike taking this as poorly as he did..." Twilight trailed off as his good mood all but evaporated.

"Oh," Fluttershy patted Twilight's hand sympthetically, "Spike loves you Twilight, he'll come around soon enough. Uhm, I do, maybe, have one teeny little suggestion? Maybe you'd be more understandable if you had something different to wear?" Fluttershy picked at the hem of Twilight's dress while he blinked at her owlishly.

"Understanding shouldn't be an issue. I've read everything about it so I can give a good speech on what I am," Twilight said confidently, but then he shrank into himself a bit, "Spike did ignore me though. What am I supposed to do?"

"Oh, Twilight," Fluttershy admonished lightly, "Ponies are just like my animals, we all learn in different ways, so even though a long speech may work for you it won't for everypony. You have to tell everypony in the way that is best for them. Now, uhm, I think I know exactly the next pony you need to talk to."

Just like that Twilight found himself being led through the back roads of Ponyville by the hand, being sure to avoid the major thoroughfares. Oddly enough the few ponies they passed didn't seem to notice anything different, but Twilight felt as though his mane was a large neon arrow above his head pointing right down at him. He hardly noticed they had stopped until he felt Fluttershy drop his hand. He looked up to see himself parked in front of Rarity's boutique.

Almost as soon as Fluttershy had knocked the door swung open and Rarity called to them from the back where she was pinning up what looked to be a wedding gown.

"Just a moment, darlings, I'm in the middle of-" Rarity halted as she glanced over, "Oh my goodness, what happened to your coiffure?"

Twilight was reminded strongly of the first day they met.

"Oh, you mean my mane?" Twilight replied cheekily. Rarity rolled her eyes.

"Darling, this is no time for humor. Your poor mane has been hacked all to pieces! Don't tell me you botched a spell again?" Twilight winced, Fluttershy nudged him and nodded encouragingly.

"Rarity, I know it's not very fashionable but I did it myself," He explained over Rarity's gasp, "I am going to..." Twilight stopped shortly, he was thinking on Fluttershy's words that everypony needed a diffferent kind of explaination. 'What does Rarity understand best?' He thought, 'Oh, yeah.'

"Rarity," Twilight said firmly, "I am changing my style. I'd like to dress as a stallion, because it's what I feel I am, and I need to project that in my looks."

Rarity was silent for a long while, thinking this through. Twilight stared at his shoes with a frown. He was just beginning to panic when Fluttershy spoke up.

"So, uhm Raity, can you help him?" She said softly. Both Twilight and Rarity looked at her in surprise.

"Well, I always approve of wardrobe changes but this is positively fascinating!" Rarity enthused.

Twilight's jaw dropped.

"A whole new wardrobe to pick out and I sooo needed a model for these stallion ensembles in my new fashion line."

Twilight looked to Fluttershy who was giggling through her fingers.

"Well, darling, this way, this way! The day is just wasting away with you standing there all slack jawed."


End file.
